Have you ever wondered what stepping in a hospital of the future will be like? What about the type of procedures you should expect to receive as treatment there? Focus Clinics reveal all with their new enter-your-age graphic; The Future of Healthcare.
You’ve watched the Sci-Fi movies that marvel of the future, speculated for yourself about the … [Read more...]

Custom, adorned rimless eyeglasses are coming back and are showing up frequently on the Runway. There are a few opticians and labs who are taking advantage of this eyewear trend can creating unique and expensive one of a kind wearable art pieces that just happen to be rimless.
Today we are honoring opticians and a lab that have painstakingly … [Read more...]

Each and every day your eyecare practice is faced with challenge after challenge. And, one of the biggest challenges for many practices is competing with cheaper, online (and now brick and mortar) frame retailers, like Warby Parker. We stopped in at a local retailer to scope out the scene and gain a better understanding of what makes these … [Read more...]

How many websites and services have you signed up with where they ask and record personal questions? From Facebook to Yahoo, Match to Pandora. There are a lot of websites out there storing your personal information.
The problem is, those same questions are being asked on websites where money might be involved, lot of money. Think about it. Your … [Read more...]

“People hate as they love, unreasonably.” ― William Makepeace Thackeray
If you follow some of the online optical forums you see Optometrists and Opticians complain about customer complaints. Every manner of euphemism is thrown out about the haters who hate and are of course being unreasonable in their description of XYZ Optometry and whatever … [Read more...]

There are a few 'big' optical companies that I think eyecare retailers can learn alot from. One company is Jins! (Marketing Lessons From Jins). One of the great things they do is their program Cases For Causes, that any eyecare professional can do on a local level.
For instance in San Francisco, where they opened their Flagship store, they … [Read more...]

Back in 2013, 60 Minutes ran an expose on Luxottica, claiming they owned 80% of the eyeglass market and they were basically gouging consumers on pricing (Sticker Shock) This is no more true today than it was four years ago. Today, we just have another term for the piece, “FAKE NEWS. The problem was and still is that we, optical professionals bought … [Read more...]

I attended an Earth Day event and a local San Diego online clothing company with bamboo sunglasses had a booth. Looking at the bamboo frames, I noticed there were no marking on the temples, no Country of Origin, no CE. I tell the guy, hey this is illegal, eyewear is classified as a medical device and you have the markings on the frame. He got a … [Read more...]

Take Your Dog To Work Day is June 23, 2017 and National Dog Day is August 26 and I thought I would deal with the issue of having dogs in a medical/ eyecare practice.
Dogs are welcome everyplace anymore. Stores and restaurants put out water bowls and carry treats. Dogs are being registered as therapy dogs so owners can carry them anywhere. Dog … [Read more...]

In these times of Fake News and that includes YELP, it comes as a relief when a company opts for total transparency. One can feel a company, a product or a service is for the benefit of the public not just for the almighty dollar.
In 2015, we wrote about a Certified B Corporation in which Kickstarter just became. Transparency (a huge public … [Read more...]

You are either in the Sunglass Business or Your Not. When I say that I mean, eyecare offices shouldn't just put Sunglasses in for 'The Season', they should carry sunglasses all year. Sunglasses have no season, they can be worn everyday, all day, all year. You should also carry a big selection which may change for the season: fashion, function, … [Read more...]

Over the years quite a few eyecare retailers have approached their optical business with a different set of eyes: Yogurt Shops, Art Shows, Pop Up Stores, Laughing Yoga classes and Eye Make Up. Some optical shops are taking the Flat Fee Approach, and of course Trunk Shows. In another area, some optical shops are focussing on Vintage Eyewear, … [Read more...]

Dan Feldman of DBA Designs asked on his Marketing Forum whether or not eyecare professionals should take a stand in their office. Over the years, there have been many issues: online refractions, mobile refractions, cost controls, Affordable Care Act, vaccines, indie business, one bathrooms, transgender and gay, insurance programs, whether or not … [Read more...]